1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to apparatus for washing golf balls, and the like, and particularly to an apparatus for automatically washing several golf balls simultaneously.
2. Description of the Prior Art
During playing of the game of golf, the balls used to play this popular game frequently become caked with dirt, mud, and the like, that affects the, for example, roll of the ball during putting, as well as retards the flight of the ball through the air. Accordingly, golfers frequently find it necessary and desirable to clean their golf balls. Various apparatuses have been proposed for washing or otherwise cleaning golf balls, but these known devices have been so troublesome to operate that they have not met with much commercial success. For example, some of these previous apparatuses have required the operator to manipulate a scoop manually in reverse to recover the golf balls from a washing solution. Other systems require special plumbing to provide water for jets and sewage to take off the resulting waste, while others are operated entirely by hand. Further, some of these known devices require the golf balls to be washed one at a time, while still others use a series of fiber brushes that soon deteriorate and have to be replaced.
Prior patents believed pertinent to the present invention are as follows:
U.s. pat. Nos. 1,469,274 Oct. 2, 1923; 1,898,809 Dec. 6, 1932; 1,954,738 Apr. 10, 1934; 1,991,183 Feb. 12, 1935; 2,619,662 Dec. 2, 1952; 3,099,027 July 30, 1963; 3,119,134 Jan. 28, 1964; 3,125,775 Mar. 24, 1964; 3,784,996 Jan. 15, 1974.